Photo cakes are becoming popular at kids’ birthday parties. A baker scans a photograph, prints it on edible “ice paper” made from rice, potato or corn starch, and adorns the cake with it. One can buy a kit to make a photo cake at home, but it is expensive and not recommended.
If you’ve been to a kids birthday party anytime in the last few years, you’ve probably seen a photo cake. A photograph of the guest of honor is imprinted on this type of cake. Thanks to the marvels of technology, a non-toxic, edible photograph can be printed and used as a cake decoration!
How is it possible? It’s simple. The person wanting to make a photo cake offers a favorite photo to the baker. The baker will do the cake as usual, except instead of embellishing the top of the cake with pink or blue flowers, he’ll adore it with an exact copy of the photograph.
To make the photo cake photograph, the baker will scan the photograph provided. Once scanned, the photograph is printed on a special edible “ice paper” made from rice, potato or corn starch. The ink used to imprint the image on the paper is made with food colouring.
A sheet of rice or potato icing could actually add an extra thin layer to a birthday cake. While this won’t take away from the overall look and taste of the photo cake, it is noticeable where the icing sheet has been placed. There are special icing sheets made with cornstarch, which are melted once placed on top of the cake icing, leaving only the photograph behind.
If you’re willing to invest in the equipment, you can even make a photo cake at home. The supplies needed to make one can be ordered on the Internet or from special mail order companies. Included in these kits are edible inks and icing sheets. Supplies are expensive, though. You can expect to pay between two hundred and three hundred dollars for a kit.
There is another consideration for those looking to make a photo cake at home. While the kits are designed to be printed from your home printer, think carefully before you do so. If you’re going to feed food through your printer, you’ll need to do a lot of washing first. The last thing you want is for your guests to ingest ink left on the printer. After printing is complete, you will need to thoroughly clean the printer again. Unless you plan to purchase a separate printer, making this type of cake at home is not recommended.
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